W.H adviser: Obama will do a “better job” working with Congress this time
CHICAGO, IL – APRIL 14: Senior White House Advisor David Plouffe speaks to supporters of President Barack Obama during a campaign fundraiser at Navy Pier April 14, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. Plouffe told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday January 20, 2013 that Obama will do “a better job” of working with Congress in his second term in office.
White House senior adviser David Plouffe admits that the President has a lot of work to do in his second term, which officially starts today.
He told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that President Obama will do "a better job" in the next four years of doing "all we can" to work with Congress on a host of pressing issues including deficit reduction, gun control and immigration reform.
"Yes, we have some political divisions in this country," Plouffe told CBS and added, "there's vast support out there for balanced deficit reaction, investments in education and manufacturing, immigration reform, gun safety. So on the issues the president intends to really push and focus on, there's massive support in the country, even amongst Republicans."
"That's why we're going to do a better job in the second term of, we're going to do all we can to work with Congress and negotiate, to make sure the American people are more connected to what's going on here," he continued.
Plouffe was making the rounds of Sunday morning talk shows on the day that Obama was to be officially inaugurated in a private ceremony at the White House. The large, public swearing-in will be held Monday.
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Plouffe told "Fox News Sunday" that President Obama plans to use the public forum of his second inaugural address to encourage encourage the American people to engage in the political process.
“He’s going to talk about how the American people – if they are not engaged in these debates in pushing Washington, progress and change won’t happen,” Plouffe said.
The President's top adviser also said he was confident that proposed immigration law changes and gun control measures should be able to pass Congress, reports Bloomberg.
“Newtown has changed the debate,” Plouffe said on CNN’s “State of the Union” today, referring to tragedy in December where 20 children and 6 adults were shot at a Connecticut elementary school.
“Sadly, it took a tragedy like that, but you’re seeing a lot of people — by the way Democrats and Republicans — think differently about this issue since this tragedy.”